Strong impact of electrification and digitalisation on Aftermarket
Eric Schuler: At Valeo, we see two major revolutions which will be having an outstanding impact on our aftermarket business: vehicle electrification and digitalisation.
Indeed, today, automotive is experiencing a radical shift towards electric vehicles. With CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) regulations becoming more global, with an increasing number of cities and states banning diesel cars in the next few years, with China imposing quotas of 40% purely electric vehicles by 2030, and with car makers significantly developing their EV offer (there are already more than 200 electric models available in 2021), we are seeing a drastic shift in the vehicle sales mix going from less than 5% for EV worldwide in 2020 to an estimated 68% by 2030.
1 car out of 3 is equipped today with a Valeo solution
Michel Forissier: At Valeo, we are already N°1 worldwide for electrical systems. 1 car out of 3 on the planet is equipped today with a Valeo solution. We are ramping up production of low and high voltage solutions for hybrid and electric, and we will equip 90 new vehicles in the next three years with our technology. Our portfolio is continuously growing with new solutions and we are looking beyond cars and LCVs as new types of eMobility are emerging. Indeed, we are already delivering ePowertrains for e-bikes, e-scooters, e-robots, e-droids, light city e-cars and last-mile delivery e-trucks. Last but not least, in 2022, we will be launching a new product line with our AC charging stations in order to help electrification expand.
An ever-growing product portfolio
Eric Schuler: For our aftermarket customers, our value proposition is to fulfil the future repair and maintenance needs of hybrid and electric vehicles currently present in the car parc. We will offer the very best support in terms of product offer and services, growing our portfolio from 2,500 SKUs to more than 4,000 in 2022. We have opened new opportunities in 2021 with the 48V iBSG systems (Integrated Belt Starter Generator) and will continue to pursue these opportunities, from 2022 onward, with technical parts linked to the new cooling technologies in EVs as well as the new power transmission devices such as e-motors, on-board chargers and DC/DC converters, including all information about the software linked to these products.
Advanced online technical support
Eric Schuler: In order to further help workshops and distributors, we are also putting a lot of effort into the digitalisation of our services. For example, Valeo Tech@ssist has been developed to provide technicians with advanced online technical support.
Tech@ssist is a digital module that offers three main functionalities: it is a very quick and intuitive search engine which already covers more than 45,000 references. One can easily search products by VIN number, vehicle type or by product references and access all available information including technical characteristics, pictures, or automakers’ compatibility information.
Tech@ssist also gives access to a complete library of more than 5,000 technical documents including technical service bulletins, security data sheets, tutorials, videos and fitting instructions. And finally, because we’re aware of the increasing complexity of technical automotive maintenance, we have developed a complete training library of online webinars which can be followed live or on demand (more than 450 webinars already available).
Valeo paving the way
At Valeo, we are convinced that electrification will transform the car parc landscape forever and that digitalisation will turn into real business levers for workshops and for distributors. As a leading company, we are paving the way and we'll do what it takes to help our partners smoothly follow the road!
